The RCA Tri – Color Vidicon Camera: 1953
Although RCA poured millions into this experimental project from ’53 till ’55, in the end they had to let it go. It worked, but not as well as they had hoped. Here are the details on the Tri – Color Vidicon.
This is a single tube capable of generating all three primary colors. The heart of the tube is a unique and intricate color sensitive target consisting of nearly 900 fine verticle strips of red, green and blue color filters covered by three sets of semitransparent signal conducting strips.
The signal strips, connected to corresponding to a given color, are all connected to a common output terminal and insulated at the same time from the strips of the other two colors. As the target is scanned by a single electron bean at the rear of the tube, the color sensitive filters permit the signal strips to produce electrical signals corresponding to the light and color of the image being scanned. Since the beam strikes all of the color sensitive strips at each scanning, three simultaneous color signals are generated.
So no “TK” number assigned?
Sounds like the Sony Trinicon.
Very interesting, i think that this system was stablished the operational principle of all single tube color cameras, and most recently, single CCD color cameras…
It would be interesting to know what the actual problems were, other than the characteristic vidicon lag. Maybe a look at the old patents would give insight into that.
I remember the first portable-VTR (late1960s-early 1970s) cams had a vidicom tube for color and an extra one for black and white. Am i right?
Plumicon tubes? I bet that guy didn’t have to freelance, per diem, vacation relief, daily hire!!! Probably retired real comfy!!
Doesn’t look like they had much money left over for the camera metalwork…
I’ve seen this camera on some TV sites in the past, quite fascinated by it! I am guessing 900 RGB strips divided by 3 RGB primary colours will give you 300 lines resolution which is about 60 lines better than a VHS recording. I have a few 70s/80s striped single tube colour cameras including Sony Trinicons, I can see the pictures are much coarser in resolution compared to B&W vidicon cameras I have! Hope this camera somehow survives somewhere even if it’s buried somewhere in a hoarder’s barn!
…Good, the past alive…